Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population as of 2020 was 21,573.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719, and the outpost withstood an attack from the native Natchez people. It was incorporated as Vicksburg in 1825 after Methodist missionary Newitt Vick.
During the American Civil War, it was a key Confederate river-port, and its July 1863 surrender to Ulysses S. Grant, along with the concurrent Battle of Gettysburg, marked the turning-point of the war. The city is home to three large installations of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has often been involved in local flood control.
History
The area that is now Vicksburg was long occupied by the Natchez Native Americans as part of their historical territory along the Mississippi. The first Europeans who settled the area were French colonists who built Fort Saint Pierre in 1719 on the high bluffs overlooking the Yazoo River at present-day Redwood. They conducted fur trading with the Natchez and others, and started plantations.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and (6.78%) are covered by water.
Vicksburg is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Much of the city is on top of a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg is also served by Interstate 20. The interstate opens Vicksburg with a cloverleaf interchange that heads out to U.S. Route 61 North towards Rolling Fork, Mississippi, Clarksdale, Mississippi, and stretches out for another 77 miles towards Memphis, Tennessee. On the south part of the exit, it heads on Mississippi Highway 27 towards Utica, Mississippi. As the interstate goes on it makes interchanges with Clay Street, Indiana Avenue, and Halls Ferry Road. After the downtown interchanges are over, before finally crossing in Louisiana with a cloverleaf interchange, I-20 makes a directional T interchange with US-61, and US-61 heads south toward Port Gibson, Mississippi, Natchez, Mississippi, and then continues for another 92 miles into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana's capital city. Interstate 20 then continues to head west towards Monroe, Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, Dallas, and lastly after 445 miles, making a trumpet interchange with Interstate 10 in Toyah, Texas.
Climate
Vicksburg has a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and hot, humid summers.
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,573 people, 8,969 households, and 4,864 families residing in the city.
Economy
In 2017, Emma Green of The Atlantic stated, "The Army Corps of Engineers sustains the town economically".
12.3% of the local workforce is employed by the federal government.
Casinos
Vicksburg is the home of four casinos along the Mississippi River.
Ameristar Casino Vicksburg
Casino Vicksburg (formerly Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg)
Riverwalk Casino Hotel
Water View Casino
Arts and culture
Annual cultural events
Every summer, Vicksburg plays host to the Miss Mississippi Pageant and Parade. Also every summer, the Vicksburg Homecoming Benevolent Club hosts a homecoming weekend/reunion that provides scholarships to graduating high-school seniors. Former residents from across the country return for the event.
Every spring and summer, Vicksburg Theatre Guild hosts Gold in the Hills, which holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running show.
Places of interest
City Hall, a 1902 Beaux-Arts Classical Revival design by the architect James Riely Gordon.
Anchuca Mansion
Balfour House
McRaven House
Old Court House Museum
Vicksburg National Military Park
Pemberton's Headquarters
U.S.S. Cairo Gunboat & Museum
Vicksburg Riverfront Murals
Vicksburg Theatre Guild
Government
The city government consists of a mayor who is elected at-large and two aldermembers. The current mayor is George Flaggs Jr., who defeated former mayor Paul Winfield in the June 2013 election. The two aldermembers are elected from single-member districts, known as wards.
The city is home to three large US Army Corps of Engineers installations: the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), which also houses the ERDC's Waterways Experiment Station; the Mississippi Valley Division headquarters; and the Vicksburg District headquarters.
The 412th Engineer Command of the US Army Reserve and the 168th Engineer Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard are also located in Vicksburg.
The United States Coast Guard's 8th District/Lower Mississippi River sector has an Aids To Navigation unit located in Vicksburg, operating the buoy tending vessel USCGC Kickapoo.
Education
The City of Vicksburg is served by the Vicksburg-Warren School District.
High schools
Vicksburg High School
1988–1989 National Blue Ribbon School
Warren Central High School
Junior high schools
Vicksburg Junior High School
Warren Central Junior High School
Academy of Innovation
Elementary schools
Beechwood Elementary School
Bovina Elementary School
Bowmar Avenue Magnet School
Dana Road Elementary School
Redwood Elementary School
Sherman Avenue Elementary School
South Park Elementary School
Warrenton Elementary School
Vicksburg Intermediate School
Warren Central Intermediate School
Private schools
Porters Chapel Academy
Vicksburg Catholic School - St. Francis Xavier Elementary and Saint Aloysius Catholic High School (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson)
Vicksburg Christian Academy
Vicksburg Buddhist Fellowship
Vicksburg Community School (K-12)
Former schools
Hall's Ferry Road Elementary School
1985–1986, National Blue Ribbon School
Culkin Elementary School
Jett Elementary School
Cedars Elementary School
Vicksburg Middle School
All Saints' Episcopal School was a local boarding school located on Confederate Avenue, which closed in 2006 after 98 years in operation. The historic school is now a regional campus for AmeriCorps NCCC.
St. Mary's Catholic School served the African-American community.
McIntyre Elementary School served the African-American community.
Magnolia Avenue School serviced the African-American community and was renamed Bowman High School to honor a former principal.
Rosa A. Temple High School served the African-American community.
King's Elementary School served the African-American community.
Carr Central High School.
J.H. Culkin Academy (grades 1-12 until 1965, thereafter Culkin Elementary School).
H.V. Cooper High School. First graduating class 1959.
Jefferson Davis School.
Oak Ridge School.
Eliza Fox School (a.k.a. Grove Street School).
All Saints' College. An Episcopal college for white women. Opened in 1908 and closed in 1962.
Media
Newspapers
Vicksburg Daily News, Vicksburg's only locally owned amateur news source.
The Vicksburg Post, formerly the Vicksburg Evening Post.
Radio
AM Station
FM Stations
Transportation
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad and then the Illinois Central Railroad for several decades had passenger service through the city, at two different stations, one on Levee Street, and the other on Cherry Street. The IC's Planter went north to Memphis, Tennessee and south to New Orleans. The Chery Street station hosted the Northeastern Limited and an unnamed train east to Jackson and Meridian (sleeping car passengers could continue to New York; coach passengers could transfer at Meridian's Union Station to an Atlanta and New York bound train there), and the Southwestern Limited and another train west to Monroe and Shreveport's Union Station. The final train serving Vicksburg was the Southwestern Limited/Northeastern Limited in 1967.
Interstate 20 runs east–west through the southern part of Vicksburg. U.S. Highway 80 runs east–west through the city. U.S. Highway 61 runs north–south through the city.
The nearest airport with commercial flights is Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, 53.2 miles to the east of Vicksburg. Vicksburgh Tallulah Regional Airport and Vicksburg Municipal Airport, to the west and to the south of Vicksburg, are, on the other hand, two general aviation airports.
Notable people
William Wirt Adams, Confederate Army officer and member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
Katherine Bailess, actress, singer and dancer
Earle Basinsky, crime novelist
Edwin C. Bearss (1923–2020), American Civil War historian
Joseph A. Biedenharn (1866–1952), entrepreneur: first bottled Coca-Cola in 1894 at a location in Vicksburg
Johnny Brewer, football player
Margaret Hunt Brisbane (1858–1925), poet
Roosevelt Brown, former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs
William Denis Brown, III, lawyer, businessman, state senator from Monroe, Louisiana; born in Vicksburg in 1931
Ellis Burks, former MLB outfielder
Charles Burnett, filmmaker
Malcolm Butler, cornerback for the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans
Odia Coates, pop singer
Rod Coleman, defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons
Caroline Russell Compton, Mississippi artist
Mart Crowley, playwright, TV executive
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (previously U.S. Congressman, Senator, Secretary of War)
Bobby DeLaughter, Mississippi state judge and prosecutor
Willie Dixon, blues bassist, singer, songwriter, and producer
John "Kayo" Dottley, college All-American and professional football player
Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights activist and journalist
Mark Gray, country music singer, born in Vicksburg in 1952
Louis Green, linebacker for the Denver Broncos
DeMichael Harris, wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts
Milt Hinton, jazz bassist
Jay Hopson, football head coach, University of Southern Mississippi
Joseph Holt, longest-serving Judge Advocate General of the Army
Delbert Hosemann Jr., Lt Governor of Mississippi and former Secretary of State
Hank Jones, jazz pianist, born in Vicksburg
Martin F. Jue, amateur radio products inventor, entrepreneur
Patrick Kelly, fashion designer
Brad Leggett, football player, Seattle Seahawks center
George McConnell, former guitarist for Widespread Panic, Kudzu Kings, and Beanland
William Michael Morgan, country music singer
Michael Myers, defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals
Key Pittman, U.S. Senator from Nevada, 1913–40; born in Vicksburg
Vail M. Pittman, 19th Governor of Nevada
Evelyn Preer, African-American film actress
George Reed (1939-2023), former running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, CFL Hall of Fame member, Order of Canada member, Saskatchewan Order of Merit member
Beah Richards, African-American film and television actress
Kee Sloan, Episcopal priest and eleventh Bishop of Alabama
Roy C. Strickland, businessman and politician in Louisiana and Texas, born in Vicksburg in 1942
Taylor Tankersley, Florida Marlins relief pitcher
John Thomas, former MLB player (Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals)
Mary T. Washington, the first African-American woman CPA
Carl Westcott, entrepreneur, founder of 1-800-Flowers and Westcott Communications
Delmon Young, outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies
Dmitri Young, first baseman for the Washington Nationals
Jaelyn Young, pleaded guilty to charges relating to her attempts to join ISIS
Cultural references
Vicksburg is mentioned in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley.
Several delta blues songs mention Vicksburg, for instance Charley Patton's "High Water Everywhere" and Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues"
The city is mentioned multiple times in the series of books surrounding the Logan family, including Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976) and Let The Circle Be Unbroken (1981), by Mildred Taylor.
A made-for-TV movie version of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, based on Maya Angelou's memoir, was filmed in Vicksburg.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? was filmed in Vicksburg. The Stokes campaign dinner was filmed in the Southern Cultural Heritage Center's auditorium.
The hospital stairway scene from Mississippi Burning was filmed in the Southern Cultural Heritage Convent (with Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe).
Vicksburg is featured in Robert A. Heinlein's 1982 science fiction novel Friday as a town in the Lone Star Republic, a leading smugglers' port between Texas and the Chicago Imperium. The book's protagonist Friday Baldwin stayed there, particularly in the riverfront Lowtown, while trying to find a way into the Imperium.
In the novel Underground to Canada the protagonists Julilly and Liza are slaves on a cotton plantation near Vicksburg.
Vicksburg was the focus of four episodes of the American television series Ghost Adventures during Season 19, with one episode dedicated to Champion Hill Battlefield.
On Elton John's 1974 album Caribou, the song Dixy Lily contains the lyrics "Down from Louisiana on the Vicksburg run." in the chorus.
See also
USS Vicksburg, 5 ships
References
Further reading
Rothman, Joshua D.: Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2010.
Cox, James L. The Mississippi Almanac. (2001). .
History of Vicksburg's Jewish community
External links
City of Vicksburg
Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce
Cities in Mississippi
Cities in Warren County, Mississippi
Mississippi populated places on the Mississippi River
County seats in Mississippi
Populated places established in the 1790s
Micropolitan areas of Mississippi
1826 establishments in Mississippi
French-American culture in Mississippi